Hezonja ready for his shot
PORTLAND, Ore. — has his second chance.
Coach said he intends to play Hezonja as backup at small forward when the Orlando Magic use a smallball lineup featuring
at power forward. Hezonja opened the season in the rotation, but he fell out of it in mid-November after he struggled on both ends of the court.
Hezonja remained patient as he racked up 13 DNP-CDs during the Magic’s first 40 games.
Off the court, Hezonja has attempted to stay ready by working with strength and conditioning coach
and assistant strength and conditioning coach When Hezonja played 12 minutes in the Magic’s loss to the Los Angles Clippers on Wednesday, he reported that he did not feel tired.
“I’m definitely in super shape,” Hezonja said before the Magic faced the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night at the Moda Center.
“I’m 300 percent ready. I talked to Frank. I’ve got to use that in a smart way and manage all that energy and all that hype to play. I’ve got to manage it in the right way so the team wins.”
Hezonja has rough spots to iron out, no question.
Shooting is supposed to be the strength to his game. But he entered Friday shooting only 23.8 percent from 3-point range this season, although some of his inaccuracy could be chalked up to a lack of rhythm from inconsistent playing time.
Defense is weakness.
In the loss to the Clippers, he gave up a pair of driving layups to veteran guard and also fouled Crawford on a 3-point shot.
Asked about those sequences, Vogel gave credit to Crawford for making stellar plays instead of faulting Hezonja.
“He got beat a few times, but Jamal Crawford does that to every team that they play,” Vogel answered. his biggest
“Whether you’re an elite defender on him or a younger defender on him, he does that. If we would have had a different matchup on him, Jamal Crawford could very well have gotten the same points. So I don’t hold that on Mario. But he’s got to guard his own position. That’s part of what he’s got to do. And we want him to not turn the basketball over, play within himself offensively and guard his own matchup.”
returned to the court after he missed one game due to a sore right shoulder.
Vogel employed a lineup of
Ibaka and starting Gordon,
Vucevic is the only player remaining on the Magic roster who was
teammate for all three seasons of Harkless’ tenure in Orlando.
The Magic traded Harkless after the 2014-15 season, and Harkless has since emerged as a reliable starter for the Trail Blazers. In July, the Blazers re-signed Harkless to a four-year deal worth $40 million.
“I’m really happy for him,” Vucevic said. “When he was with us, he never really played at a level we know he could. He never really reached his full potential. But I’m really happy to see that he did that here [in Portland]. He’s been playing really well for them. He signed a nice contract, which I’m sure has helped him as well. So I’m very happy. He’s improved a lot, especially his shooting. It’s always good to see, especially guys that you played with that are young like that, to do really well.”